The Northwest Amateur Hockey League (NWAHL) is a 16U AA and 18U AA Tier 2 youth hockey league primarily located across the Northwest region of the United States. Our mission is to establish a highly competitive youth hockey league that minimizes the need for extensive travel, particularly flying, while fostering strong regional competition. We aim to create an environment that supports the growth of local teams in the 16U and 18U divisions, allowing them to compete at a high level without leaving the region for league play.
Jarett Goodkin at Sno-King Amateur Hockey Association in Kirkland, Washington, along with Justin Mitchell at Pacific Edge Hockey Association in Sherwood, Oregon, founded NWAHL during the 2023-2024 regular hockey season. The original five 18u AA teams were Sno-King Jr. Thunderbirds, Pacific Edge Hockey Association, North Idaho Knights, Idaho Jr. Steelheads, Tri-Cities Jr. Americans. The league expanded for the 2024-2025 hockey season to include 16u and 18u divisions; that season the 16u division had 9 teams divided into three conferences, and the 18u division had 7 teams divided into three conferences. The league expects further growth in the future.
NWAHL plays four age groups — 12U, 14U, 16U and 18U. For the 2026–27 season that is 88 teams from 35 member associations, from Puget Sound to the Wasatch Front, with many associations icing teams in more than one age group.
16U and 18U are the league's AA age groups — competitive travel hockey a step below AAA — and both are grouped into five regional divisions: East, West, North Central, South Central and Northwest. 16U, for players 15 and 16 years old, is the largest group in the league this season at 29 teams and splits into two flights. 18U is where the league began — 17 and 18 year olds playing their final seasons of youth hockey before juniors, college, or wherever the game takes them next — and carries 19 teams in a single flight.
14U (13 and 14 year olds, 18 teams this season) and 12U (11 and 12 year olds, 22 teams) are the league's newer age groups. Both are grouped by flight rather than by division — 12U runs two flights, 14U one — so clubs are matched on competitive level first and the schedule stays regional.
The structure is the mission in practice: keep the competition close, keep the travel regional, and keep strong local programs playing meaningful games all season long. For the current list of clubs and teams, see League Teams.
NWAHL Information Sheet (PDF) — the league overview document: structure, divisions, and how the season works.